How to Fix Denon AVR-X3500H Subwoofer Not Working

If your Denon AVR-X3500H subwoofer not working, we’re going to help you get it up and running within minutes.

Setting up your Denon AVR and your subwoofer doesn’t fire up is such a frustrating experience.

Your subwoofer is going to add a lot of depth to your audio experience, and you want it switched on all the time.

Let’s dive into it.

To get the subwoofer of your Denon AVR-X3500H to work, you’ll need to go deep into your AV Receiver’s settings. You want to make sure that your subwoofer is activated in the Speaker Configuration menu. Changing your speaker settings to Small will also enable your subwoofer to fire up.

Causes of Denon Subwoofer Not Working

This information should give you a better understanding of what you’re facing when your Denon subwoofer is not working.

There are a few culprits that you want to look out for, such as loose connections. It’s also possible that your volume is set too low that you can’t hear the subwoofer.

Here are the main issues that could be plaguing your Denon receiver’s subwoofers:

1. Loose Connections

Whether it’s the signal or power cables, anything loose on your Denon can affect its performance.

If your subwoofer is not connected to your main unit, it simply won’t work.

2. Subwoofer Not Activated

There is a setting in your Denon receiver to activate your subwoofer. You might expect that it’s turned on automatically, but you’ll need to do it manually.

3. Subwoofer Threshold Too High

You can set the threshold when you want your subwoofer to start firing. It’s a handy feature whenever you want to control your audio experience.

However, setting it too high will not activate your subwoofer.

4. Wrong Speaker Settings

You can set the speaker types on your Denon. Some configurations will let your speakers act like they don’t need your subwoofer.

We can now proceed to the full troubleshooting guide so you can fix the problem and enjoy top-quality audio or your entertainment setup.

How to Fix Denon AVR-X3500H Subwoofer Not Working

Before we go ahead to the full fix guide, we recommend turning the volume up on your Denon receiver.

Subwoofers usually require a certain signal threshold before they activate, and if you set your volume low enough, it’s not going to fire up.

You can also restart your receiver to get rid of any temporary glitches that could occur.

In case these quick steps don’t work, let’s move on to more advanced solutions:

Solution #1: Check the Connections

After working on the quick fixes, we can now look at the connections on your receiver.

Damaged or loose cables can cause signal issues that can result in the subwoofer not working.

Denon’s connections from the main unit to the speaker units are mostly physical cables. Get a few of these loose, and it’s going to be difficult to keep track.

Here’s how to check the connections and wires of your Denon subwoofer:

1. Check your Denon subwoofer’s ports for loose connections.
2. Tighten the connections.
3. Look at the cables connecting your subwoofer to the receiver.
4. Check for damage and defects.
5. If you spot damaged wires, replace them.

Note: You can try switching connectors around and testing each time to make sure you are connected the right way.

Solution #2: Activate Subwoofer in the Speaker Configuration

After knowing that all your connections are working, you want to check your speaker configurations.

You want to make sure that the subwoofer is activated. It needs to be number one on your list.

The subwoofer settings on your Denon may be switched off by default. You may have also turned it off some time ago but forgot to turn it back on.

Here are the steps to activate your subwoofer on your Denon AVR-X3500H:

1. Go to your Denon’s Settings.
2. Navigate to Manual Setup.
3. Select Speaker Config.
4. Go to Subwoofer.
5. Set it to 1 Spkr or 2 Spkrs, depending on your subwoofers.

Note: As long as you do not set it to None, you should be fine, and the subwoofers will start to work.

Solution #3: Change Your Subwoofer Levels

The next setting you want to consider is your subwoofer levels.

This is the setting that tells your system when to start firing your subwoofers, depending on the audio you’re playing.

There are times when you don’t necessarily need the subwoofer, and this should give you that flexibility when to activate it.

Here’s how to change your subwoofer’s threshold levels:

1. Open your Denon’s Settings.
2. Select Audio.
3. Go to Subwoofer Level Adjust.
4. Adjust the volume levels between -12.0 dB and +12.0 dB.

Tip: The lower you set the levels, the lower the threshold of your subwoofer starting to sound off.

Solution #4: Set Your Speaker Size too Small

These settings might seem a bit weird since they’re called Small and Large, but they make sense.

Small speakers mean they’re physically small and are not capable of producing deep bass tones.

If your speakers are set to Small, it will need your subwoofer for a better audio experience.

Here’s how to set your speakers to Small:

1. Open your Denon’s Settings.
2. Go to Manual Setup.
3. Select Speaker Config.
4. Put all your speakers to Small.

Note: Even though you’re using large physical speakers, you can still set them too small, allowing them to route low bass tones to the subwoofer.

Solution #5: Set Subwoofer Mode to LFE + Main

Another configuration that you want to take a closer look at is your subwoofer’s LFE settings.

It stands for low-frequency effects, and it controls the signals that go to your subwoofer.

There are a couple of configurations here, but setting it to LFE + Main ensures that your subwoofer works all the time.

Here’s how to change this setting on your Denon AVR-X3500H:

1. Open your Denon’s Settings.
2. Select Manual Setup.
3. Open the Bass menu.
4. Navigate to Subwoofer Mode and set it to LFE + Main.

Note: The default setting is set to LFE, and when paired with Large speakers, the subwoofer will not produce a sound.

Solution #6: Set the LFE Playback Range

Lastly, you want to set the playback range of your subwoofer.

This is also similar to subwoofer levels, but this tells your subwoofer at what frequency it will start to work.

Setting the playback range lower will get your subwoofer to kick in at lower tones boosting your bass experience.

The opposite is also true, when you set it higher than 120 Hz, as your subwoofer will kick in when your audio is at a much higher frequency.

Here’s how to set your LFE playback range:

1. Go to your Denon’s Settings menu.
2. Select Manual Setup.
3. Choose Bass.
4. Scroll to the LPF for LFE section.
5. Set the playback frequency and see which one works.

Note: The default setting here is 120 Hz, so you want to check the higher or lower ranges to see which of them will turn on your subwoofer.

If none of these settings can get your subwoofer to work, you can consider possible hardware issues.

You can contact Denon’s customer support for assistance as they will be able to offer your advanced solutions.

Read Next: Denon Receiver HDMI Output Not Working?

Bottom Line

Now that you know how to fix your Denon AVR-X3500H subwoofer not working, you can get to work using these troubleshooting steps.

These steps are all in your Denon AVR-X3500H’s settings menu, so there’s no reason you won’t be able to get it working again.